A capacitor is an electric circuit element used to store charge temporarily, consisting in general of two metallic plates separated and insulated from each other by a dielectric. Capacitors are useful as a compact source for a high energy pulse.
In many instances, the capacitor takes the form of an aluminum electrolytic capacitor. Existing designs include one or more separators disposed between two or more sheets of aluminum foil. One of the foils serves as the anode of the capacitor, and the other serves as the cathode. Some designs include multiple foils which are interconnected to increase effective size of the anode or cathode.
Varying devices benefit from compact capacitor designs. Implantable cardioverter defibrillators are typically implanted in the left region of the chest or in the abdomen, and include a housing and one or more leads implanted in the patient. Existing implantable cardioverter defibrillator designs include capacitors which can consume 30% of the volume of the housing. A need exists for a smaller device which is capable of delivering patient therapy. One way to obtain a smaller device is to reduce capacitor size. Capacitor size can be reduced through a reduction in capacitor component size. Making a capacitor case thinner is one way to reduce capacitor size.
However, a thin case can raise additional issues. For example, thin cases increase manufacturing difficulty. Increased manufacturing difficulty can result in higher costs. What is needed is a case which is thin, and which is compatible with a variety of manufacturing processes.